Solvent Sublation of Trace Noble Metals by Formation of Metal Complexes with 2-Mercaptobenzothiazole

Solvent Sublation of Trace Noble Metals by Formation of Metal Complexes with 2-Mercaptobenzothiazole

A solvent sublation has been studied for the determination of trace Au(III), Pt(IV) and Pd(II) in waste water with their complexes of 2-mercaptobenzothiazole (MBT). Experimental conditions such as the concentration of HCl, the amount of MBT as a ligand, the type and amount of surfactants, bubbling rate and time, and the type of organic solvent were optimized for the solvent sublation, i.e., 25.0 mL of 2.0 M HCl solution and 30mL of 0.4%(w/v) MBT ethanolic solution were added to a 1.0 L sample to form stable complexes. The addition of 4.0 mL of 1 ${\times}$$10^{-3}$ M CTAB (cetyltrimehtylammonium bromide) solution was needed for the effective flotation accomplished by bubbling nitrogen gas at the rate of 40.0 mL/min for 35 minutes. As a solvent, 20.0 mL of MIBK (methylisobuthylketone) was used to extract the floated complexes. The procedure was applied to three kinds of waste waters. Au(III) was determined as 0.68 ng/mL and 0.98 ng/mL respectively for final washed water of two plating industries in Banwol. Pd(II) and Pt(IV) were not detected in any of the three samples. The recovery, which was obtained with analyte-spiked samples, were 95-120%.